As is customary in these matters as I'm sure you well know, a vote was then held by the GLofKY on whether or not to hold it the request for recognition over until the next Annual Communication, and the vote came back in favor of doing so. From reports that I have received, there has for some time been some background chatter regarding this, so their appearance wasn't a surprise to very many in attendance. We have a wonderful new Grand Master, who I suspect follow in the footsteps in the last few we've had and do what he can to assist to push this to a successful resolution at next year's GL Communication.

It is my hope that the long archaic rules that has not permitted Masonic communication with our Prince Hall Brethren will be sent to the passages of time to be lost forever, and we can finally say with one voice that we truly are a Brotherhood of men, under the Fatherhood of God.

Huzzahs to both grand lodges for taking this step, and to Most Worshipful Grand Masters L. Todd Eastham and Hugh R. Harlan Jr., and especially to Past Grand Master Herman M. Forrester, for leading their brethren forward. This fraternity makes great changes with each passing day, as we all strive to live by the precepts and teachings we share around Masonry's altars.

After I received this note, I looked up the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry in Kentucky, and discovered that it originally met across the Ohio River from Louisville in New Albany, Indiana.

A petition was forwarded to the Grand Master of Ohio for a Warrant. It was granted, and on June 12, 1850, in the city of New Albany, Indiana, Mt. Moriah Lodge No.1, F & A. M., was duly organized. The Lodge room was leased for three years from the Caucasian Masons, they having built a new hall and moved into it. Their furniture was also turned over to M. Moriah. For three years, the Lodge remained at New Albany. The members labored under many disadvantages, such as crossing the Ohio River in skiffs at mid-night, sometimes amid high waters and heavy drifts, at the risk of their lives, and then walking five miles up to the city.

At the expiration of the three-year lease, the Lodge moved to Louisville, Kentucky. A house was rented from Washington Spradling, Sr., on Walnut Street, between Ninth and Tenth Streets. The roll of Mt. Moriah increased to over 100 members. Finally, the group divided and organized St. Thomas and Meriwether Lodges.

In Illinois, the MW PH Grand Master has spoken at each of the last three Grand Communications of our Grand Lodge (I've only been a Mason for three years, so it may go back farther). Our Past Grand Master Noel C. Dicks is an honorary Past Grand Master of the Illinois Prince Hall Freemasons.

As a KY mason, I am thrilled and delighted to hear this news. I pray that our GL can move forward to a successful outcome, and extend full and complete recognition to our PH brothers, both in KY and in other states.

KY was the first state south of the Mason-Dixon line, to enact a civil rights law.

I hope that together, the GL of KY, and PH of KY can move forward into the broad, sunlit uplands.

ATTENTION!Kindly sign your comment posts. Anonymous postings on Masonic topics have the same status as cowans and eavesdroppers, as far as I am concerned, and may be deleted if I don't recognize you or if I'm in a grumpy mood.

A mythic past. A visionary future. A legendary brotherhood.

Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons likewise use the tools, traditions and terminology of those earlier stonemasons as allegories for building Temples in the hearts of men.

It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself.

At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For that man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

Chris received his college education at Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Chris spent twenty-three years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions, shooting and editing close to 1,000 commercials, music videos and feature films. He has written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and his voice has appeared in countless television and radio commercials.

He was the editor and a contributor in 2004-5 to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith"by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank focussing on modern lodge solutions. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications.

Hodapp and Alice Von Kannon developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in 2017 on America: Facts vs Fiction.

His latest major book project is a 200 year retrospective history of the Grand Lodge of Indiana F&AM, to be released in January 2018.

He and Alice live in Indianapolis with their very French poodle, Wiley.

TIME'S RUNNING OUT! HELP NEEDED NOW!

I have been tasked with writing a new history of the Grand Lodge of Indiana F&AM , concentrating especially on our last 50 years. So, ...

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